


True Love's Kiss

by peblezQ



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Boys Kissing, Character Death Fix, Deadlights (IT), Eddie Kaspbrak Lives, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, First Kiss, Fix-It, Horror, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Im still not over that ending, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Movie: IT Chapter Two (2019), Prompt Fic, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Sleeping Beauty Elements, Spoilers, True Love's Kiss, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2020-10-26 14:36:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20743814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peblezQ/pseuds/peblezQ
Summary: This was a Tumblr prompt. Basically, an AU in which Richie doesn't immediately wake up from the deadlights after Eddie throws the spear at IT.This follows the 2017/2019 movie canon.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey howdy, hey! I'm back at IT again with a fix-it fic.
> 
> This was written after I came across a Tumblr post where someone came up with this premise and begged the writers on Tumblr to write it for them. Lo-and-behold, here I am with this lovely prompt fic! 
> 
> This is just the final battle scene rewritten.  
  
[Here is the Tumblr Post](https://waste-of-outer-space.tumblr.com/post/187866219639/fjsjjeejjcjdj-au-where-when-richie-gets-caught-in)  
I hope this fic is to your liking, OP on Tumblr (:
> 
> ~Pebbs

"Hey, you wanna play truth or dare!? Well here's a truth: you're a sloppy bitch!" Richie yells out at the spider-clown-hybrid that he has thrown a rock at. It drops Mike and tilts it's large clown head at Richie, raising a challenging brow at him. Richie decides to keep pushing it, hoping he can distract it long enough so the losers on the other end of the cavern have enough time to plan something.

"Yeah, that's right, asshole! Let's dance! Yippee-kye-aye motherf—" Richie's distracting rant is abruptly cut short as his jaw and body go completely slack. His eyes cloud over until his irises are foggy with an opaque grey; his mind suddenly hazy as he is pulled into ITs deadlights. Richie’s body floats upwards as if he is a puppet suspended on strings.

"Richie!" Eddie yells, panic rising with his body temperature as he trembles furiously. He looks down at the spear in his hand, gripping it tightly. He closes his eyes and whispers, "it kills monsters...if you believe it does..." Eddie opens his eyes, looking at Richie. "If you believe it does!” Eddie says louder, his voice gravelly and hoarse. He rips the headlight off of his forehead and strides forward, feeling a surge of adrenaline and courage.

"Beep beep, motherfucker!" Eddie roars before throwing the spear directly at ITs open mouth. Eddie watches as the spear pierces right through its head directly into the deadlights. Pennywise falls backwards and impales itself with the obscure crash sight behind IT.

Richie immediately falls onto the cold cavern floor and Eddie rushes to him right away. “Richie!? Rich, hey, buddy, I think I did it!” Eddie kneels beside Richie and feels his breath get caught in his throat at the sight of him. Richie’s eyes are still clouded with white and his whole body is slack as if he is just a corpse.

“Richie, hey, man. Wake up!” Eddie says, a little more hysterically now as he begins shaking him. “No no no no no, Richie! Hey, man, come on! You’ve gotta get up!”

Ben stands up, separating from Beverly in a moment of panic when he watches Pennywise sit up and lift its arm over Eddie. Ben runs and bodychecks Eddie off of Richie just as Pennywise swings its claw down, passing nothing but air where Eddie used to be.

“Fuck, grab him, grab him!” Mike and Bill yell frantically from the other end of the cave as Pennywise lifts its claw again. Eddie and Ben quickly grab Richie from under his shoulders and start quickly dragging him away until they fall backwards and into a smaller cave. Pennywise stabs the cavern floors where Richie used to be, and the three men roll over each other until they reach the bottom of the small cave.

Eddie ignores the screams of the other losers and rolls over, groaning and wincing as he forces himself on his knees to help Richie. Eddie pulls him up until he is sitting upright and leaning against the rocks. Richie’s eyes are still open and his head flops to the side. His arms are loose on his sides, and his slacked-jaw makes him appear to be nothing but a corpse, still mid-sentence of his final words.

Eddie shakes his head. He cannot be thinking about that. Those were not Richie's final words. They can't be! Eddie feels Richie’s neck just below his jaw for a pulse, distantly hearing the other losers enter the cave in his focus on Richie.

“Is he okay?” Ben asks frantically, standing up to place a hand on Eddie's shoulder.

“Ruh—Richie?” Bill asks when he crouches beside Richie, placing his hand on the unconscious man's shoulder.

“He’s still caught in ITs deadlights,” Mike says matter-of-factly. Beverly clasps her hands over her mouth, her eyes watering as she stares down at Richie.

“I can feel a pulse — he’s still alive,” Eddie says breathlessly; everyone sighing with relief along with him.

“Wuh—why is he still cut-caught in ITs deadlights?” Bill asks to no one in particular, his eyes flickering from one loser to the next.

“I don’t know, maybe because IT isn’t dead yet?” Ben suggests with a shrug.

“How do we kill it, anyway?” Bev asks with a wavering voice.

Eddie leans back on his heels, staring off in the middle distance beyond Richie. "I had it in my grasp," Eddie reaches his hands out to go through the motions of strangling the air. "I hurt it — the leper — and made it small."

"All living things must abide by the law of the shape in which they inhabit, " Mike says, snapping his fingers as his thoughts become more clear. "That's it! All we have to do is make Pennywise small!"

"But how do wuh—we do that?" Bill asks incredulously.

Beverly's eyes flicker up from the ground as they light up with an idea. "The cave. Pennywise has to make himself small to go through the cave! If we lure Pennywise into the cave's entrance—"

"—We can make him small," Ben finishes Beverly's statement with a firm nod, all of the losers finally on the same page. Ben turns around, pacing off while Eddie turns to Richie and rests his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"How do we get outta here, though?" Eddie asks, looking up at Pennywise who has been clawing at the entrance to the small cavern they're in and roaring cruel obscenities at them. "Pennywise has us cornered here, and I don't think he's gonna make himself any smaller to get us since he knows we're trapped!"

"Wait!" Ben calls from somewhere deep into the cave, causing everyone to look in the direction of his echoing voice. Ben appears moments later, seemingly walking through a shadow on the rock walls with a hopeful grin. "I found a passageway. It gives us a clear shot to the cave we entered through!"

"Okay, so we should all go through there and sneak our way to the entrance — maybe try to have the last person get Pennywise's attention—"

"—What about Richie!?" Eddie says with wide eyes. "He's still unconscious! We can't leave him here!"

"Here. Luh—let's carry him halfway and have just a few of us lure Pennywise," Bill suggests with a smile.

"Alright. I'll help carry him," Ben says as Bill and Eddie struggle to lift Richie. With Ben's added help, the three of them carry Richie through the narrow cavern corridor until they reach a new hidden crevice of the caverns. Beverly and Mike continue forward towards the entrance whilst Bill and Ben help Eddie gently place Richie down against the rocks in a hidden area. They leave Eddie to stay behind with Richie as they join Beverly and Mike towards the cavern's entrance.

"Hey, Losers!" Pennywise roars loud enough to make the cave rumble. "Where do you think you're going!?" Pennywise asks with mock-offence as he crawls along the cavern walls to block their way to the exit. "Not so fast! The fun is just beginning!"

"Okay, that didn't work! Does anyone have a plan B!?" Ben asks with wide eyes as they all cautiously back away from IT.

"There are more ways to make someone small," Mike replies, keeping his eyes on Pennywise.

"Yes. We have to make him believe he's small!" Beverly adds, looking over at her friends momentarily before locking her gaze on the monster again.

"Huh—how the fuck do we do that!?" Bill cries out nervously.

Pennywise begins to laugh, his chuckle starting low and slowly growing until it is nothing but a loud cackling rumble. “Small? I am the eater of worlds!”

Pennywise lowers itself towards Beverly, laughing and expanding its jaw to take a bite when Beverly suddenly says: “You’re just a clown!”

Pennywise stops in place, its eyes blinking in confusion. The others immediately gain courage from this fleeting moment of weakness from the creature.

“You’re just a fucking clown!” Mike adds.

“An old woman!” Beverly pipes in.

“Just a cuh—copy!” Bill fires back before it can thrash at him.

“A mimic!” Ben yells in defiance.

Pennywise visibly shrinks with each insult, sputtering and sporadically shaking as if it is being hit by a powerful bullet with each word.

“A leper!” Eddie yells from Richie’s side, still keeping his grip on his best friend’s shoulder as he joins in.

> “A clown!”
> 
> “A bully!”
> 
> “A fucking clown!”
> 
> “A motherfucking mummy!”

With each chanting phrase, IT retreats further away from them, shrinking and transforming into everything they say IT is. All of the losers begin to surround IT, falling on one unanimous chant as they corner IT.

“Clown! _Clown_! **Clown**!”

Eddie stands up, running into the centre of the cave with the other losers to join them. Eddie rips it’s spider-like claw off, his rage overpowering as he glares into the eyes of the creature who hurt everyone he has ever cared about — especially Richie.

“You’re just a fucking clown!” Eddie yells as he tosses the claw aside carelessly.

“No! I am the eater of...of worlds…” IT whines, sounding like a crying child with a raspy voice from screaming in fear for too long.

“You’re nothing but a clown with a scared beating heart,” Mike says finally. Immediately, a loud thundering thumping sound can be heard, and the losers glare at Pennywise as ITs chest pumps rapidly like a scared little cartoon villain. Mike leans down, pushing his hands past the pathetic futile attempts from Pennywise to stop him.

Mike impales his hand into ITs chest and pulls out the beating heart, feeling it start beating faster than before. Now the tables have turned for Pennywise — IT is now the one filled with fear, while the losers have become braver than ever before.

Pennywise attempts one final scare, but none of the losers even flinch. Eddie nearly laughs, finding the clown to be nothing but a pathetic piece of shit.

“Look at you…” Pennywise begins saying as they all hold onto ITs heart in Mike’s hand. “You’re all grown up…” Pennywise whispers in ITs final breath before they begin to squeeze.

Pennywise screeches as the heart squelches and crunches in their hands. They all close their eyes, mildly disturbed but mostly feeling powerful for once as they all crush ITs heart together.

Pennywise rots in front of them, the pieces of ITs flesh fading to black gooey dust and floating up towards where ITs deadlights have dimmed into nothing. They all release the remains of the crushed heart, watching it float away with Pennywise’s corpse.

Bill and Ben immediately hug, and Mike pulls Beverly into a bear hug as well. Eddie just blinks, suddenly remembering—

“Richie!” Eddie says breathlessly as he turns around to run towards the trashmouth. He can't wait to hear him speak crude things to him. He has so much he wants to say to him. “Rich, hey! We did it! We killed IT!” Eddie says excitedly as he approaches his friend who is still slumped against the rocks. Eddie kneels in front of him, his voice getting caught in his throat at the sight of him. Richie’s eyes are still fogged with grey and his body is still slumped over like a lifeless ventriloquist dummy.

“Ruh—Richie?” Eddie stutters breathlessly, grabbing Richie’s jaw and lightly tapping him. “Wake up… Why...Why isn't he waking up!?” Eddie turns to face the losers, his eyes wide with panic. “I — I — I duh-don’t fucking understand!” Eddie snaps in panicked trepidation. “Why the fuck is he still caught in ITs deadlights if IT’s dead!?”

“I duh—n…” Bill sighs, rubbing his face. “I don’t know.”

“Richie! Fuck you — come on, you can’t—” Eddie starts shaking Richie frantically, tears being released like a broken dam as he sobs uncontrollably. “Fuck you, Richie! Wake up!”

“Eds…” Beverly whispers, her tears rolling slowly down her blood-covered face. “Hon, I think… I think he’s gone…”

“No! He’s fine!” Eddie snaps, looking at her with dark eyes. “Mike, please tell me you know how to wake him up!”

“I don’t know what to do…” Mike sighs, rubbing his face solemnly. “I...just don’t know, Eds…”

Ben, having been pondering silently for the last few minutes finally snaps his head up, blinking as his epiphany strikes. “Wait, I — I think I remember… Beverly, when she was caught in ITs deadlights…” they all look at Ben, “...I think she woke up after I kissed her.”

“Ben,” Beverly says with a sad frown. “I don’t know if…what your saying...”

“Fuck off, this is no time for fucking jokes, man,” Eddie grumbles furiously. “I am _not _kissing him! That’s fucking _gross_, man. He’s all covered in sewer shit and grime — and — and Richie’s my friend! I - I—”

“I never said it had to be you. I’m just saying that — that maybe the act of kissing him might help?” Ben shrugs nonchalantly.

Beverly nods, leaning closer to Richie. “I’ve got this. Maybe I can...Maybe I can wake him up,” Beverly says, grabbing Richie’s face while Eddie shifts out of her way. She leans in and presses her lips to Richie’s carefully. They all wait with bated breath as she pulls away, still holding his face. His mouth is still slightly agape and his eyes are still clouded with grey.

“Okay, maybe I was wrong…” Ben says sadly. The earth rumbles a bit, causing everyone to sway off balance in their places. A few pieces of the cavern ceiling breaks; rocks rain over them, causing them to cover their heads. The rumbling pauses, but the losers are now on high alert.

“We have to get him the fuck outta here! Thuh—the cave’s beginning to collapse!” Eddie says desperately.

“He’s really fucking heavy, man. I...I don’t know. It’s gonna be hard if he’s not awake…” Ben mutters sadly.

“Did you seriously just suggest leaving Richie down here to rot?” Eddie huffs out, pissed off. “Fuck you!”

“Hey, hey. Calm down. Maybe we can wake him up!” Mike says in a soothing voice.

“Well, all I’ve got is that kiss thing, but that didn't work, so—”

“—Maybe it can’t just be anyone. Maybe it has to be a true love's kiss?” Beverly suggests in a softer tone, cutting off Ben gently.

They all sluggishly crane their necks to look at Eddie, and his face immediately burns into crimson. “No! Fuck you guys, I-I—”

“—Eddie, man, we aren’t judging you,” Mike says carefully. “I think you might—”

“—Richie’s my _best friend_,” Eddie says quickly, furiously shaking his head. “Why the fuck would you even think it—it’s me?”

“Well, for starters, when Ben suggested the kiss, you immediately assumed it would be you who had to do it,” Bill says matter-of-factly. “I think that says enough for us to know that—”

“—Fuck off, Bill! I am _not _in love—” Eddie’s cut off when the cave rumbles again, causing the losers to brace themselves until it stops.

“Stop fucking around, Eds. Wuh—we don’t have much time. This cave cuh—can come down on us any minute now! We nuh—eed to save Richie!” Bill yells, silently feeling bad for yelling at Eddie as he did earlier. He’s losing all of his patience, not willing to wait any longer to save his friend. “Come on, Eds! You told me yourself - yuh-you don’t want Richie to die! So save him!”

“But how can...Richie...doesn’t he…” Eddie lowers his head shamefully. “Doesn’t he have to return the feelings…?”

They all stare silently at him for a moment, not knowing how to respond. “It doesn’t hurt to try, Eddie,” Mike replies quietly, giving Eddie a hopeful smile.

Eddie turns to Richie, slowly grabbing his face. He pauses, sighing loudly. "This is so fucking stupid..." Eddie grumbles over his shoulder. "We're wasting our time with this..."

Eddie faces Richie again, his breathing becoming jagged; he wishes that he didn’t throw away his inhaler right about now. Eddie’s heart is pounding desperately as he leans closer to his friend, silently praying it will work. _ ‘I don’t want you to die. I won’t let you die. I love you. I love you. I love you,’ _ Eddie pauses mere centimetres from Richie’s face, his head angled and ready to go in. Eddie closes his eyes, pushing his fingers slightly back into Richie’s hairline behind his ears, and he presses his lips to Richie’s with one final thought: _ ‘I love you!’ _

Eddie feels an uncomfortably cold knot in his gut twist and turn as he kisses Richie’s unresponsive lips. He moves his mouth, tilting his head and deepening the kiss — moving his mouth more sloppily as he does so. His kiss becomes embarrassingly desperate before he pulls away, releasing a distant whimper from the back of his throat as he chokes back new tears.

Eddie sniffles, letting go of Richie’s face and pulling his hands to wipe at his cheeks, refusing to open his eyes. The losers behind him are silent until he hears someone gasp so quietly that he convinces himself that he imagined it. “I told you it wouldn't…it wouldn't work—”

He hears the gasp again, but louder. Eddie opens his eyes and blinks away the blurry tears to watch Richie blinking into focus, himself. He gasps desperately for air now as he becomes conscious again. Eddie’s words — whatever he was saying before, he can't remember — have fallen into the wind as he gapes at Richie.

Richie just blinks at him, wide-eyed and dazed. His body is moving, albeit slowly, but he is alive. His hazel eyes are glistening with fresh tears as they flicker between Eddie’s eyes with so much love that it physically hurts Eddie’s chest. “Eddie…” is all Richie whispers, his voice deep and gravelly, like he decided to gargle the stones from the quarry.

Richie is awake. Richie is speaking. Richie is **alive**.

The earth begins to rumble again, and it doesn't stop this time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I’m so sorry this is 8 months late! A lot has happened and I genuinely forgot about this fanfic during the chaos. Lucky for us, I had this part half-done and the rest outlined in enough detail that I was able to finish it (:
> 
> This was originally posted at a weird time of my life, and things started getting better, but then they got so much worse once the quarantine started three months ago… But I filed my taxes, I’m going back to work soon, and I’ve gotten back into the groove of writing again.
> 
> I was looking through my old fics here on Ao3 last night, and when I stumbled upon this hidden gem, I realized that I promised in the comments that the next part would be “uploaded by Wednesday”. So, uh, it is Wednesday today and I’m publishing it, aha… I never did specify which Wednesday I would publish the second part… *nervously sweats*
> 
> Sorry again that I forgot to post this update until now. I hope y’all like it! (:
> 
> ~Pebbs

The cavern rumbles violently, and the Losers all scramble to escape. Eddie and Ben help Richie stand up, each supporting his weight as he wobbles from side to side in a daze. They all run towards the cavern entrance, all crawling as quickly as possible. Eddie feels someone grab his hands and drag him the rest of the way out, and he gets up to do the same for Richie and Ben as they come through last.

All of the losers support each other as they climb up the vertical cave. Mike and Bill make it out first and they both help the others get out from the top. Once everyone is in the sewers, another violent rumble causes everyone to wobble off-balance. Richie dizzily stumbles over, nearly falling over into the water, but Eddie grabs him and Bill grabs Richie’s other arm to help support him.

The losers all wade through the water as quickly as possible, going back the way they came and up the well. Once they make it into Neibolt’s basement again, the rumbling gets even more violent, causing wooden frames to fall over them as they scurry up the creaky staircase. They all hold onto each other as they rush out of the house, Eddie nearly falling into Richie’s back as he feels a gust of air push them all forward.

The six losers run out to the street before stopping to look back. They watch as the house crumbles into itself, falling into a sinkhole that has formed underneath it. They all pant heavily, and Eddie sighs, finally having a moment to breathe. His line of sight leads him to his hand that is still tightly interlocked with Richie’s. He doesn’t remember when he grabbed it, but he looks at Richie with a nervous smile. He tightens his grip and Richie looks at their interlocked hands in shock. Richie practically rips his hand out of Eddie’s as if he just touched a hot pan, and Eddie feels his stomach go heavy and thorny.

Richie nervously stares at Eddie, squinting at him as if he is a puzzle that cannot be solved. Eddie lifts his brow, unsure how to react to Richie’s strange antics.

“So, _ that _ happened…” Ben says in a low voice, being the first to break the odd silence between the group.

“We all made it out alive — thank god,” Mike adds with a small smile as he pats Richie’s shoulder.

“You nearly died in there,” Eddie says to Richie in a deadpanned tone. Richie continues to stare at Eddie, or more accurately, at Eddie’s chest, and Eddie self-consciously rubs at it.

“_ I _ almost died?” Richie retorts, gawking at Eddie like he is carrying the whole world in his palms.

“Yeah, dipshit. You were caught in ITs deadlights,” Eddie replies. “What..._ what _ do you remember?”

Richie blinks vacantly, looking off in the middle distance as he struggles to recall anything. His adam’s apple bobs as he swallows and then he shrugs. “I remember throwing rocks at IT, to distract IT from you guys — and the next thing I remember, you guys are lifting me up as the cave starts collapsing around us…” Richie pauses, looking around at everyone. “Is...is IT—?”

“—IT’s dead,” Beverly confirms with a gentle pat on Richie’s bicep.

“We killed it when you were caught in ITs deadlights. You woke up not long after,” Ben explains, pacing near Beverly and avoiding any eye contact with that house.

“How...did I wake up?” Richie asks with a quirked brow. Immediately, every loser stares at Eddie, and he gulps nervously. He rubs at his neck and turns away from Richie, trying to hide his blush.

“I, uh, I don’t know. I guess you woke up after IT died…” Eddie replies in a small voice. The other losers all glance at each other, frowning, while Richie just nods, accepting the information.

“Well, I could go for a shower or something. I feel fucking gross,” Richie says, breaking the tension. Everyone nods in agreement and they all wander off, down Neibolt Street and away from the sinkhole that once held the awful house.

They walk to the quarry in silence and Eddie can see Richie looking at him in his peripheral vision. Richie seems almost..._ forlorn? _ Like he has lived a whole life in one minute and is gawking at Eddie like he’s a walking corpse or something. Eddie feels himself shiver when Richie stares at his chest for a moment too long — as if he’s seeing something there that isn't.

They make it to their spot at the quarry and start stripping some of their clothing; except for Eddie who flickers his gaze between each person like they’ve all lost their minds.

“I thought we were gonna head back to the hotel — what the fuck are you doing?” Eddie complains as he watches Richie grabbing at Eddie’s hoodie.

“Shut up and just swim with us,” Richie says with a smile that sends Eddie’s heart reeling to the moon with how fast it’s pumping.

All of the men back up and allow Beverly to make the first jump before jumping in themselves. They swim in silence for a while, just enjoying the feeling of the cool water on their grimy skin.

“This is so fucking gross,” Eddie says, catching everyone’s attention. “We are washing ourselves in dirty-fucking-water and we're all gonna catch some gross-ass disease before we can even make it home to live out the rest of our miserable lives!”Eddie complains as he shudders in his spot.

They all laugh, but Riche stays silent. Eddie realizes that he looks..._ strange _and... _ distracted _as he sits on a rock under the water, staring at his glasses in his hands. He took them off to scrub them in the water, but they aren’t dirty. Bill takes notice of this with a frown. “Hey, Rich? You alright over there?”

Richie looks up distractedly before shrugging. “I thought they were dirty. I guess not…”

Eddie frowns at him. “There’s something else. What is it?”

Richie looks at him, wide-eyed and lost. Tears begin streaming down his cheeks and he drops his glasses to wipe at his face furiously; he shakes his head quickly. All of the losers immediately swim towards him, crowding him with comfort and support as he begins sobbing uncontrollably. Beverly rubs soothing circles on his back and the others float closer, pressing up against him to hold him in any way they can.

“Sorry, I just —” Richie blubbers out, sniffling and rubbing his nose with the palm of his hand. “Fuck. _Sorry._ I’m so sorry… It’s just — _everything_ — and _Stan_...”

They all just silently lower their heads and hold each other, crying softly together in the cold quarry water. Time passes; how much time, they don’t know, but it is eventually broken by Richie’s sniffling and eased exhale. “Thank you. I don’t have my glasses on so I don’t know who you people are, but thank you.”

Everyone erupts in easy laughter, pulling away and composing themselves now that Richie has brightened their spirits again — like he always does. Eddie wipes at his eyes, deciding to not care about any diseases that he might get from doing so since he’s most likely fucked anyway.

Richie leans back, looking around himself with furrowed brows. “I’m actually serious, I can’t find my glasses —”

“—You’re serious?” Everyone responds almost simultaneously, beginning to spread apart as they look around the cloudy water, realizing he must have dropped them in there somewhere at some point.

“Is it around here somewhere?” Bill mutters, looking down and looking back up at Richie. He shrugs and Bill dives in. Mike turns around, wading through the water carefully and searching from the surface before diving in, himself.

“Oh, I see them. They’re right there,” Bev chimes in, smiling at Ben.

“Where?” Ben replies, smiling at her with a lifted brow.

“Right there. You see?” Bev points down then smiles up at Ben as he squints awkwardly, struggling to see through the nearly-opaque surface.

“I can’t see anyth—” Bev abruptly dunks him underwater, Richie and Eddie chuckling lightly to themselves.

“Did she dunk him?” Richie asks. Eddie leans in towards Richie, his arm still resting on Richie’s leg that’s propped up from the rock he’s been sitting on for the past five or so minutes.

“Of course she did,” Eddie confirms with a smile and they chuckle again. Eddie soothingly rubs Richie’s knee under the water and Richie pulls his leg away quickly, hissing sharply under his breath as he does so. Eddie raises a curious brow at him.

“Hey, Rich — you okay? Are you hurt?” Eddie asks, assuming that he possibly touched a wound on Richie’s leg by mistake. Richie just shakes his head, his eyes looking in Eddie’s general direction, but Eddie knows he is probably just a blur to his friend.

“No, I just — um,” Richie fumbles with his words, his eyes scattering all over the place as he seems to panic. “I think I’m okay. I mean, I might be traumatized for the rest of my fucking life, but otherwise, I think I’m oh-okay…”

Eddie nods patiently and offers Richie a reassuring smile, even though it might be unseen by his legally-blind friend.

* * *

They all go back to the Derry Townhouse Inn, and Richie can't stop looking at Eddie with a lost gaze like he can't believe what he is seeing. It makes Eddie feel uneasy as he catches Richie’s strange lingering gaze. Whenever he looks directly at him, though, he looks away, which makes it even worse.

“I think we deserve an actual fucking shower and some god-dammed sleep,” Richie mumbles tiredly as they all shuffle awkwardly through the lobby.

“I think most of us need medical attention,” Eddie replies, nervously pointing to his cheek to silently voice his concerns. “Also, I think I’m afraid to be alone right now. Last time I was in that bathroom upstairs, I was stabbed in the fucking face.”

“We can partner up. Make sure nobody is alone?” Bill suggests, looking at everyone for any opposition.

“What, are we gonna just watch each other shower or something?” Richie asks with a roll of his eyes.

Bill’s eyes grow at that. “What, nuh-no! I meant, lie-like yuh-you—we can just—” Bill sighs, gritting his teeth together when his stuttering becomes unbearable.

Richie firmly grabs Bill’s shoulder and smiles at him reassuringly. “Hey, man. It’s okay. I was just joking. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind someone sitting outside of my shower curtain chatting with me so I don’t have a fucking panic attack.”

“Sounds good to me,” Ben adds with a gentle smile of his own.

“C’mon, Bill,” Richie says, leading Bill up the stairs, claiming him as his bathroom-buddy with the action.

“Hey, Eds,” Beverly whispers sweetly to Eddie who is staring despairingly up at Richie. He blinks away from the retreating form of his best friend to look at Beverly. “I’ll help fix you up. You can come with me to my room.”

Eddie smiles gratefully and follows her up the stairs. Ben and Mike wordlessly nod at each other, and Ben leads Mike to his room, walking up the stairs right behind Bev and Eddie.

Beverly and Eddie enter her room and immediately enters the bathroom. Eddie smiles sweetly at Beverly. “Why don’t you shower first? You’re probably the grossest of us all right now. I can wash my face in the sink.”

Beverly nods and enters the tub before closing the curtain. She tosses her closes out through the crack and turns on the shower. The pipes dry heave before sputtering out chilly water. Beverly only hisses briefly but eases into the feeling of clean water rinsing the blood and sewer grime off of her skin. Eddie washes his hands in the sink and then wanders into the hotel room. He grabs a handful of Beverly’s clean clothes from her suitcase and places them on the toilet seat.

Eddie carefully peels the bandage off fo his face, hissing quietly as he does so. The only sound heard is water running from the shower. Eddie turns on the sink and begins rinsing his face. He tries his hardest not to groan and grimace as he does so, but he can’t hold back the low whimpering from the back of his throat. He pretends to cough, hoping Beverly didn’t hear him.

“So, why did you lie to Richie about how he woke up?” Beverly casually says after two minutes of total silence between the two.

Eddie winces when he starts scrubbing his face, cursing under his breath as he does so. He shuts off the tap and wipes his eyes with the towel beside the sink. “I — You saw his reaction. After we got out of that hell hole and I was holding his hand…” Eddie trails off. He opens the cupboard and smiles victoriously when he finds a first aid kit. He opens it and grabs the peroxide spray. “He pulled away like I was hot coal or something.”

“He was probably just dazed and scared. We all were — still are,” Beverly replies, her tone gentle and sweet like honey.

There is another long silence as Eddie cleans his face up. Beverly shuts off the shower, and Eddie wordlessly grabs a clean towel from the closet and holds it by the slight crack in the curtain. She pulls it in and Eddie turns around to grab the first aid kit.

“I’ll wait outside. I left some of your clothes on the toilet seat,” Eddie says as he leaves the bathroom. He closes the door behind him quietly and sits on the bed. He finishes wiping all of his noticeable wounds and Beverly walks out in her fresh clothes after a few moments.

“Why don’t you hop in the shower and I can get some of your clothes for you from your room?” Beverly asks with a sweet smile.

Eddie stands up. “No, I’ll come with you. Defeats the whole purpose of the buddy system if we split up for too long.”

Beverly nods in understanding and follows him out of the room. Eddie waits for her at the open door of his room, and Beverly just grabs his sealed suitcase and drags it out of the room. “We can get anything else later,” she says as they walk back to her room. Eddie hums in agreement and then shuffles through his belongings in her room. He grabs the first pair of clothes he can find and shuffles into the bathroom.

After entering the shower, Beverly enters the bathroom and sits on the floor by the sink, staring out the window. Eddie just scrubs at his skin as roughly as he can, hoping to rid himself of every bit of those sewers. He looks towards the curtain, knowing Beverly is sitting out there. He chews on his bottom lip as he ponders what exactly he wants to say to her.

“Hey, uh, Bev?” Eddie asks quietly.

“Yeah, Ed’s?” Beverly replies in a matching tone.

“When you woke up. After being stuck in ITs deadlights as a kid — did you, uh, stare at everyone all the time like they’re ghosts?” Eddie asks timidly.

“What do you mean?” Beverly inquires, turning her head towards the shower curtain to raise a brow at Eddie even though he can’t see it.

“It’s just — Richie. He keeps staring at me when he thinks I’m not looking. He keeps looking at me like I’m a ghost or something. It’s..._ strange. _” Eddie sighs, lathering the soap into his hair as aggressively as he can. “I know it probably sounds ridiculous, but—”

“—No, I…” Beverly pauses. “I noticed that. He looks at your chest, mostly.”

Eddie breathes a sigh of relief. “Do you have any idea why?”

“I have no idea, sorry. Maybe he saw a horrible vision in the deadlights like I did,” Bev tries to explain with a shrug. “I saw all of you die in the vision IT showed me back then. Maybe he saw us die, too, and he’s just still coping with differing reality from the nightmare.”

Eddie hums and nods; then mutters, “I suppose,” after he realizes Beverly can’t see him behind the curtain.

“Give him time. Maybe he’ll open up about it,” Beverly adds softly, and Eddie silently continues rinsing his hair, closing his eyes and trying to ignore the lingering fears behind his eyelids.

* * *

The next day, they all check out of the Inn and then gather out front. Not really knowing how to break the silence, Mike ends up clearing his throat before speaking. “Uh, so, I was hoping that — before you all go…” Mike sighs and casts his gaze to the pavement of the parking lot. “Maybe we can all go out for one last meal before going our separate ways?”

Richie looks distracted, pacing awkwardly in his spot and then nods quickly as he stares at his car. “Yeah, alright — but I’ve gotta do some shit first. Can we maybe meet somewhere in, like, an hour?”

Eddie looks at Richie with sad eyes before looking over at Beverly. She shares the same silent exchange with Eddie and sighs. She then closes her eyes and nods. “Yeah, okay. One hour. Where should we meet?”

“There’s a nice Italian restaurant — in the next town over. Rigoli’s.” Mike looks around and they all nod in agreement. Richie flashes them all a quick thumbs up.

“Cool, meet you there in an hour,” he says as he quickly drags his suitcase to his car. He doesn’t say another word before hopping in and driving away.

“Is he okay?” Ben asks after Richie’s res sports car squeals out of the driveway at a speed surely well-above the speed limit.

“Of course not,” Bill replies softly. “He was silent all night. Every time I tried to talk to him, he just shut me down with a shitty joke.

“He keeps staring at me — like I’m dead,” Eddie admits, speaking a little too fast for comfort. “I think he saw something in ITs deadlights. Something horrible.”

“We killed IT,” Mike replies, his eyebrows knitted together. “I can feel it. The air here feels less suffocating already. It finally feels peaceful here.”

“But Richie is still haunted,” Beverly pipes in. “Let’s give him his time. Maybe he just wants to clear his head before talking to us.”

“Yeah, okay,” Ben replies, his eyes sadly lingering on the road where Richie’s car disappeared on moments ago. He looks over at Beverly and then at the other men. “Want to go on a walk? Catch up some more before meeting for lunch?”

Eddie looks at his watch and squints at it. **_11:23 AM_**. They slept in today, waking up only forty minutes ago and quickly packing up. He looks over at the road. “Yeah. Alright,” Eddie says distractedly. 

* * *

They gather at the Italian restaurant together about ten minutes before they originally planned to meet there with Richie. They figured they can just spend the time waiting for a table since they didn’t think to call ahead.

Time flies waiting for the table, and Richie meets them there about five minutes late. Nobody comments on it. 

“A toast,” Mike pipes in, silencing the table. He lifts his cup in the air in front of his face, outstretched over the round table. “To celebrate killing IT.” He pauses. “To Stanley…” they all bow their heads for a moment. “And to our futures now that Pennywise is gone!”

“Hear hear!” Bill chants with a large grin. “To Stan and to killing IT!” They all tap their glasses together and drink from them, smiling sadly. The moment is bittersweet since they can’t truly celebrate the monster’s death without Stanley.

Richie doesn’t drink from his cup like the others, and Eddie takes immediate notice of this. “Hey, Rich?” Eddie says in a gentle voice. “Are you alright?”

Richie looks at Eddie and frowns. He slams the cup on the table, causing it to rattle and gain the attention of the three other patrons at the restaurant. “No, Eddie, I don’t think I am,” Richie replies with a dry voice.

The bystanders look away and the table falls silent as they stare at Richie. His jaw sets tightly as he stares at his drink, wiping the condensation away with his thumb stroking the glass. He sighs in defeat, rubbing his forehead tiredly. “I can’t tell what’s real or not. What I experienced in that sewer — it was…” He pauses. “It was a lot…”

“What did you see, Richie?” Beverly asks patiently. She looks at him with so much care that it makes him feel immediately guilty for acting so rudely.

“I’m sorry. I just—” he looks at Eddie, “—You died, Eddie. I saw it. I felt your blood on my hands. It was all over my glasses.” Everyone stares in bewilderment at the confession, their gazes switching between Eddie and Richie. “IT impaled you with one of ITs fucking claws, and we left you behind to rot in that fucking sewer with the fucking clown.”

“Wait, you saw IT die in the deadlights?” Ben asks so suddenly that it startles the group. Richie looks at him and nods once, firmly.

Beverly looks down at her glass, her eyebrows pushed together in thought. “I wonder if pennywise was showing a possible outcome. Like how I saw all of us die, yet only one of us did in the end.”

“What, like Back To The Future bullshit — where the future can be changed and all that?” Eddie asks. Bill rolls his eyes and Richie looks over at Eddie.

“I think so?” Beverly replies, shrugging.

“Well, we don’t have to worry about that anymore,” Mike chimes in. “Eddie’s safe and sound, however, he may have a nasty scar on his cheek, no thanks to Bowers.”

Eddie’s eyes suddenly widen and he dops his face in his hands. “Fuuuuck,” he groans in his hands. Richie is quick to reassure him, rubbing soothing circles in his back.

“Hey, Ed’s, it’s gonna be fine. I’m sure the scar will look badass on you,” Richie says, attempting to cheer his fiend’s spirits. He always does.

“It’s not just that,” Eddie grumbles, lowing his hands by dramatically dragging them down his face. “I left my wife, Myra, before coming here,” Eddie admits all too abruptly, which causes Ben to choke on his drink.

Richie holds his hand still on Eddie’s back. “You...left your wife?”

Eddie starts laughing humourlessly, shaking his head and smiling up at the ceiling with his eyes closed. “I genuinely thought I was gonna die, so I told her it’s over and left with all of my shit.”

“That’s why you had so many suitcases with you,” Beverly comments aloud, mostly to herself as the epiphany strikes her.

“Why are you telling us this now?” Bill asks with a raised brow. His stutter is noticeably gone again. Must be the effect of a monster-free Derry, Eddie wonders silently to himself.

“Because... I have nowhere to fucking go from here,” Eddie admits with a dopey grin. “I have no home, no ties, no more life. I can just...drive somewhere and not stop until I hit a coast if I want, too. I actually have a future now, that I can look forward to.”

Everyone else smiles in return, seemingly all in their heads as this dawns on them, as well. They are all finally able to be at peace and move on with their lives.

“I live on the West coast if you need somewhere to stay,” Richie suggests quickly. He tucks his arms on his lap under the table and stares at his cup with a frown. “Sorry, I just — I just realized how weird that invitation was. We haven’t seen each other in decades.”

Eddie stares at Richie, wide-eyed. “I’d love to stay with you...If you mean it.”

All of the losers exchange curious glances at each other, grinning secretly to each other. They poorly attempt to hide their amusement behind obvious sips from their drinks. Richie and Eddie take notice of them and squint suspiciously at them.

“What?” Richie says after a moment of silence.

“You two are just adorable,” Beverly replies cooly.

Both Richie’s and Eddie’s faces burn a deep shade of crimson. “I am _not _adorable — and _he _is an asshole,” Eddie grumbles bitterly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about?’ Richie feigns nonchalance, shrugging as he subtly moves away from Eddie. Eddie grabs his drink and begins chugging it slowly to distract himself.

Mike rolls his eyes. “Eddie, why don’t you just tell Richie how you woke him up?”

Eddie chokes on his drink and coughs it out, most of it coming from his nose. His face and nose are blazing with heat and he coughs as he tries to clear his lungs from the soda he just inhaled.

“_ What? _ ” Richie asks, turning to physically face Eddie now with wide-eyes. “ _ You _woke me up, Ed’s? I don’t — how?” Eddie coughs a bit more and Richie smiles. “And here I thought you hated me, Spaghetti.”

“Beep beep, Richie...” Eddie replies with a hoarse voice.

Richie looks back at Mike. “How did I wake up? He’s clearly not gonna say anything—”

“Wait—” Eddie interrupts Richie. He coughs one last time for good measure before speaking again. “I, um — do you remember when Bev was caught in ITs deadlights when we were kids?”

Richie lifts a brow. “Yeah?”

“Do you...remember how she woke up?” Eddie asks timidly.

Richie stares at the table as he thinks about it. Then he looks between Beverly and Ben; his face goes pale before turning beet red. “Oh, uh — I think, um...?”

Eddie sighs, rubbing his face tiredly. “Yeah,” he mutters lowly.

“Woah, wait a minute,” Richie rubs his hand on the tablecloth as it suddenly becomes very sweaty. “You kissed me and I woke up?”

“Nothing else would work. I’m sorry,” Eddie replies, crestfallen. 

Richie just turns to look at everyone and they smile sweetly. He looks at Eddie and gives him a small, yet shy smile. “Thank you, Ed’s…”

“Don’t call me that…” Eddie mumbles in return, but a smile tugs at his lips.

“So, are you two done secretly pining against each other, or do we have to—” Eddie and Richie shoot Bill a dirty look and he grins innocently. “Hey, just making sure because I don’t think I can handle any more of it.”

“You two being open about it now is so much better than any of the endings from Bill’s books — _ ouch! _” Mike rubs his arm after Bill smacks him. Everyone chuckles lightheartedly and the tension easily floats away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry again that it took so long to post this. It's so dumb because most of it was already written when I found it - I just did some basic editing and extended a few bits. Hope ya'll liked it (:
> 
> Stay safe, everyone!
> 
> ~Pebbs

**Author's Note:**

> I hope y'all liked it! It was super short and kinda rushed because I'm very busy. It was not beta-ed, so any mistakes you find are my own (:
> 
> ~Pebbs

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Love Never Dies in Derry](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25026430) by [just_an_average_IT_stan (HPLive_yt)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HPLive_yt/pseuds/just_an_average_IT_stan)


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